Performance Evaluation of a Developed Cashew Nut Shell Liquid Expeller

The thick vesicant oil liquid contained in the shell of cashew nut, called cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL), has been known for its innumerable applications in chemical industries. Performance evaluation of a newly developed CNSL expeller was carried out to determine the effect of moisture content and pressing duration on extraction parameters. The nut shells were grouped as A: 14.00-16.99%, B: 17.00-19.99% and C: 20.00-22.99% (w.b.) moisture content at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 minutes pressing time and combination of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 kg of cashew nut shells. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the stastical analysis. The best mass of liquid extracted, best extraction efficiency and best percentage oil recovery occured at pressing duration of 10 minutes and moisture content of 14.00-16.99% (w.b.), while the best machine capacity was at pressing duration of 2 minutes and moisture content of 14.00-16.99% (w.b.). Results showed that the effects of the pressing duration and moisture content on mass of liquid extracted, machine capacity, extraction efficiency and percentage liquid recovery were significant at 0.05. Meanwhile, the effects of the pressing duration and moisture contents were not significant for the feed rate. Increase in the pressing duration at decreasingthe moisture content resulted in the increase in the mass of liquid extracted, extraction efficiency and percentage liquid recovery while increase in pressing duration and moisture content resulted in decrease in machine capacity of the expeller.